


Elysium

by baeconandeggs, cecaniah



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bounty Hunters, Fantasy, M/M, Science Fiction, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-05-18 17:22:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14856965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeconandeggs/pseuds/baeconandeggs, https://archiveofourown.org/users/cecaniah/pseuds/cecaniah
Summary: Chanyeol is asked to kidnap an alien, but in the journey back to Earth, Chanyeol starts to question his beliefs, and he discovers that maybe, it wasn't a really good idea to take that mission.





	Elysium

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt #:** (BAE394)  
>  **Disclaimer: baeconandeggs/the mods is/are not the author/s of this story. Authors will be credited and tagged after reveals.** The celebrities' names/images are merely borrowed and do not represent who the celebrities are in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this fictional work. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
>  **Author's Note:** Hi! I hope you will like my story. I'm sorry for any mistakes and I hope you will enjoy it!

Being a bounty hunter wasn’t an easy task, mostly when Chanyeol had to risk his own life every day. It wasn’t like he had much of a choice anyway; Chanyeol didn’t know his parents – like most of the children nowadays – and he grew up in a criminals group, which include murders, thieves and, of course, bounty hunters. He was certainly grateful to them, since they accepted him and adopted him as though he was their real family. He made friends, they were all practically the same age, and they learned to survive, leaving their old gang to live by their own. Chanyeol still didn’t like killing people very much, and as they were all over twenty years old, they could start a new guild. It was decided that Chanyeol should be the leader, as he was the most skilled one, and he also had that bossy aura, what made him a perfect choice. 

Space business were the one paying the most these days, because they essentially involved spaceships, which were quite expensive. Obviously Chanyeol wouldn’t afford buying one, so Jongdae helped him to steal one. Whatever they got, it was usually only profit, and Chanyeol was glad that they were able to be picky, leaving the easy missions to the beginners. Therefore, when they were asked to go to the planet Elysium, they eagerly accepted. It was known that the planet was full of magical things, and they were worthy thousand of dollars. It wasn’t really hard anyway, the biggest problem was the fact that it was quite far and they needed a potent spaceship to go there. 

That’s how Chanyeol got into Elysium, the most peaceful planet in the galaxy. They had read a lot and talked to other bounty hunters, and they all assured them that there was only animals and plants there, both could make them rich. Well, there was a legend about the Alphas, but no one had ever seen one, and Chanyeol didn’t believe what he couldn’t see. Yixing, a very smart and good-looking guy, had went to Elysium twice and he told him this was just bullshit. Even if they were real, Yixing guaranteed that they were peaceful and they had nothing to fear. So they boarded the Hawk - Jongin thought the name was stupid but everyone liked it and they decided to keep it -, heading Elysium. It was a long journey, and Chanyeol kept himself busy by preparing the traps and checking if everything was okay. 

Their pilot was Junmyeon and Luhan, two nice fellows that Chanyeol met in one of his journeys. Yixing was responsible for treating them whenever they got hurt, being almost an expert. Jongin and Sehun were blood brothers who grew up with Chanyeol and Jongdae, and they helped him in whenever they needed. Yifan, Zi Tao and Kyungsoo were in charge of doing the killing, if they ever needed to. They were all trained, of course, but Sehun didn’t really enjoy taking someone’s life, so they left it to the three boys when they could choose. Nine people was a good number, enough for them to take missions and make profit. Chanyeol and Jongdae preferred it that way as they only wanted people they could trust to work with them. Not that they didn’t have other members before, but they ended either poor or dead when they abandoned them. 

Chanyeol was in the middle of fixing a broken shield when his control panel shone, showing a new message. Jongdae came closer, cursing low as smoke left the keyboard, and he slapped Chanyeol’s head. Chanyeol pouted and hit him too before he started pressing the keys again, trying to get enough energy to build the shield again. Jongdae sat on the chair comfortably, playing the message. 

It came from Kim Daesung, a very rich man. He had inherited all the money from his father, so he was young and powerful. He was often requiring new crazy missions from Chanyeol, wanting to have the rarest items in the galaxy. 

“I’ve heard you’re heading Elysium.” The man started, crossing his legs and smirking at the camera. “I want you to get me an Alpha. I know, you think they don’t exist, but I have safe sources that can assure that they are not a legend. Chanyeol, my friend, I know you can get me one, huh? Don’t disappoint me on this. And don’t message me until you get me one.” 

That was it, short and simple like Daesung always was. If time was money, then this was one of the reasons why he didn’t stop getting richer and richer. 

“Fuck,” Chanyeol growled, laying his head on the headrest. He cocked his face to the side, facing Jongdae. “This guy has gone crazy.” 

“You know he won’t give us another mission if we don’t complete this one, right?” Jongdae said. 

“I know, but how can we do it if these things don’t exist?” Chanyeol complained. 

“Hey, we don’t know it for sure. We are going there anyway, so let’s try to get one. If we can’t do it, at least we tried and he might forgive us.” 

Chanyeol sighed and nodded, going back to his task. He didn’t know how he could capture one of them, mostly due to the fact that he didn’t even know how they looked like. There was this legend that said the Alphas were a new, improved version of the humans. After almost three hundred years, they had lost all their evil, so Chanyeol was sure that, if they were real, it would be easy to catch them. 

The loud beep and a robotic voice announced that the shields were successfully fixed, and Chanyeol got up, going to eat something. It was annoying that they only had tasteless food, and he promised himself that he would kill a wild boar in Elysium so they could have proper meat. He grabbed the pot where the dried foods were stored and he filled the pan with water, warming it up. Space travels sucked a lot because they had limited food and the meat usually ran off after a few days. They had been traveling for two weeks already at light speed, and although they were meant to arrive Elysium in the next morning, he was tired of eating those things. 

“You are making soup?” Yixing asked as he walked into the improvised kitchen, sitting down and watching him cook. He was the only one that actually liked that stuff, and he was the one who ate the most. Maybe because he had starved several times in his life, he never rejected food when it was available. 

“Yeah, wanna some?” Chanyeol replied and the other nodded. He finished cooking it quickly, and he poured its content into two bowls, giving one to Yixing and sitting in front of him. He grabbed a spoon and filled it, taking it to his mouth and he grimaced at the taste. “Man, how can you like this?” 

“It’s good, Yeol.” Yixing laughed softly as he hungrily ate, enjoying the meal. Chanyeol played with a piece of an unidentified ingredient and he sighed, looking at him. 

“Daesung wants us to get an Alpha.” Chanyeol blurted out, causing Yixing to breathe out and rest his spoon on the top of the bowl. 

“Junmyeon should talk to him and bring him back to his senses,” He said, and Chanyeol shook his head. 

“Not yet. I mean, we can try, we are going to Elysium anyway.” 

“Yeah,” Yixing spoke, grabbing his spoon again. “At least they are pacific and it will be easy to catch them. If they do exist, they are not used to humans haunting them.” 

Chanyeol nodded in agreement and he started to eat again. There were too many thoughts in his head, and he wondered how could they trick one Alpha into their ambush. Perhaps they should just spread the baits for the animals and wait for one of them to get trapped by it. It was hard because he didn’t know what they eat, how tall they were, and how he was supposed to transport it on their ship. 

Money was money, and money coming from Daesung meant a lot of money. He was probably going to sell the thing to the black market or keep it in his private collection, but that wasn’t of his business. The important part was to fulfill the mission, to keep their reputation of being the best bounty hunters. Or at worst they could ask Junmyeon to talk to him and to convince him that the Alphas weren’t real, therefore they couldn’t be caught

He tried to relax as he laid down on his bed after informing everyone about their crazy mission. The only one who got enthusiastic over it was Sehun, who seemed to really be looking forward it. The others only agreed it was a nonsense task and that they probably would go back with empty hands. Chanyeol was tired anyway so it was quite easy for him to fall asleep, only waking up in the next morning with the sound of the ship landing. It was probably Luhan who was in charge of it today since he wasn’t still able to land the ship without making everyone think it was going to fall down. Chanyeol held on the wall, just to be sure he wouldn’t slip, and he breathed out in relief as it finally stopped shaking. 

Having an empty stomach whilst exploring outside wouldn’t do, and Chanyeol walked to the kitchen, quickly swallowing the rest of his cold soup. Jongdae entered the room, greeting him with a friendly smile. 

“Luhan got better huh” Jongdae commented, putting his space suit on. 

“You don’t need the helmet, Yixing said the air is not poisonous” Chanyeol blurted out as he saw him fetch it. 

“Great, because we look ridiculous with that.” He chuckled softly and he put the boots on. “Hurry up, Yeol.” 

“Yeah yeah.” He muttered, yawning and getting up. He dressed too, not forgetting to wear gloves as well. He attached his gun to his belt, along with a long knife, and he hid a switchblade on his boots. It saved his life a couple of times already, and Chanyeol started to carry it every time they went out. He brought his bow with him as well, since it was a fairly silent weapon.

The low bleep of the doors being opened rang against Chanyeol’s ears. He walked to the entrance, the sky was slowly revealed as the gate of the ship went up and the stairs were lowered down, touching the dusty floor. One by one, they got down, and Luhan stayed behind with Joonmyun to take care of the Hawk. 

The sky was like a cloudless diamond, clear and shining, its light blue color was a tone Chanyeol had never seen before. The wind was howling, announcing the cold weather, and Chanyeol shivered as he entered that foreign place. Yixing smiled and positioned himself in front of them, guiding them. Chanyeol was amazed at the planet’s colors; although most trees had green foliage, red and purple leaves could be seen adorning the forest. As soon as they penetrated the dense wood, the grass got thicker, and the branches cracked as they stepped on it, making it more difficult for them to be silent. 

“Woah, what is this place,” Sehun muttered as he touched a purple flower. Chanyeol looked around only to notice that most of the boys were perplexed by the variety of colors and vegetation. Being born in the 32nd century, they had grown up with the endless gray and the heavy, dark clouds that hid the true sky. The few forests left had a high security and they couldn’t trespass, hence they barely had seen a tree in their lives. The sweet scent coming from it was truly unknown to all of them, and it was completely different from the polluted air they breathed on Earth. 

Unfortunately, despite wanting to explore, Chanyeol knew they had to carry on, and it was Yifan who reminded them of that. They split themselves into groups, and they spread traps along the way, so the animals would fall on them. The birds were singing happily as they clapped their wings, and it was almost cruel as Kyungsoo shot an arrow, successfully hitting one of them. Chanyeol watched as it fell down, and Kyungsoo took its body, tossing into the bag. 

“Easy.” He smiled and prepared another arrow, easily killing anything that crossed his way. Chanyeol tugged on Yixing’s sleeves, calling him. 

“Where do you think an Alpha would hide?” He asked, keeping his hand on his belt as they distanced themselves more and more from the others. 

“If they existed” Yixing started, quietly following a path that only he knew. “They would be in their houses, which I have no idea where it could be.”

“Do you think they have a hideout?” Chanyeol questioned and Yixing laughed very softly. 

“A house, Chanyeol, not a hiding place. They live here IF they are real. Plus, they are smarter than us.” He concluded, suddenly stopping as they saw a wild boar. They were extinct on Earth and their meat was worth thousand dollars. Both of them prepared their bow, skillfully placing the arrow on the string and letting it go at the same time. The animal winced and screamed as they shoot again, and as he fell on the ground Chanyeol moved closer, kneeling down and giving it a last stab with his knife. 

“I’ll help you carry it,” he said and Yixing shook his head, tying the body and getting up. 

“I can carry it, keep searching for anything precious. Don’t go far.” He answered and dragged the boar through the floor, moving away. 

Chanyeol was left alone and he decided to spread more traps around the field, placing the larger baits far from each other. He kneeled down behind a bush, watching the surroundings. It surprised him that most animals existed once on Earth, but nowadays they only had dogs and cats since they were kept as pets by the rich families. Seeing a rabbit was fascinating, and although they were cute and adorable, he had to make money, and he didn’t think twice before he shot an arrow, hitting it. The elite children would love to have an eccentric pet as well, so Chanyeol captured about five as they fell on one of the traps. 

Smiling, Chanyeol got up, grabbing the tiny cage and putting it on the big sack. He shoved the bodies inside too, and he decided to get more rabbits or maybe even another boar before going back to the ship. They would probably hunt for some hours so they could have at least a hundred items. As far as Chanyeol knew, Elysium was the only planet that had these animals, and they were really valuable and easy to sell. He also got some flowers and plants, throwing them all in the bag, being a little careless. 

The sack was full in less than one hour and he decided to unload it so he could fill it again. Tying it firmly, he supported the rope on his shoulder, making the weight bearable to carry. He dragged it through the forest, silently cursing himself for stuffing the sack until it was too heavy. The walk took ten minutes instead of five, and he could see Jongdae dragging the bags to the ship, apparently tired as he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. When their eyes met, Jongdae gently waved at him, and Chanyeol smiled at him, pointing to his own weighty load, causing the other to roll his eyes playfully. Chanyeol approached him, helping him to separate the items. 

“I can’t believe you put the plants along with the animal’s body, Chanyeol.” Jongdae scolded him, sighing. “I already told you-you can’t keep it together!” 

“It’s just for a few minutes!” Chanyeol complained, whining as Jongdae slapped his shoulder lightly. 

“A few minutes are enough to rot the flowers.” He said and when they finished he put all the bodies in a freezer. “What rabbits eat?” He asked casually as they also had living animals to transport. 

“I don’t know. I hope they will eat canned food.” Chanyeol answered and petted Jongdae’s back as he left. 

Stretching his muscles, Chanyeol went back to the planet, watching the scenery as he walked to where he had spread the baits. The place was quieter than before, maybe because they killed too many animals today. It was still beautiful anyway, too lively in comparison to Earth. It made him wonder how Earth used to be before The Great War, before the nuclear bombs that devastated everything and everyone. It looked like those stupid zombie movies, except for the fact that people were still alive, or at least trying to survive. 

Suddenly, a loud scream cut the deep air, and Chanyeol immediately adopted a defensive posture, this time fetching his gun and aiming it at nowhere. The most logical option was that one of the members had accidentally stepped on one of his traps, but then Yixing appeared running and grabbed his wrist, not saying anything before he dragged him to the dense area of the forest. 

“The fuck?” Chanyeol groaned as he kept walking, and Yixing didn’t have time to answer because as soon as he stopped, Chanyeol saw it with his own eyes. 

Trapped in the ambush there was a young boy. It had silver hair, a perfect porcelain skin, and leaf green eyes. It was wearing brown clothes, though its pants got ripped around its ankle as it stepped on the trap. Chanyeol widened his eyes as he noticed the blood that it was staining the soft grass was blue, and he gazed at the boy again, too shocked to say anything. 

“How did you come here?” The boy inquired in a firm voice, gazing at Yixing and at Chanyeol. “You have to leave now.” 

“Are you alone? Where are the others?” Yixing asked back, but obviously the other didn’t answer and Yixing looked at Chanyeol. “It’s an Alpha. Its blood…” 

“I saw it.” He whispered, biting his lips as he couldn’t believe one of them just fell on their ambush. The trap’s pointy teeth were still deeply buried in its ankle and it couldn’t run away. Chanyeol kneeled down, staring at its eyes and there was definitely different things about it. First, its gaze had this fierce nature despite the fact that it was in danger. Its features were too perfect, its lips were rosy and beautifully drawn. It also had an aura around it that Chanyeol couldn’t explain, but it made him feel as though he was looking at someone superior. They were physically the same, yet the boy didn’t look like he was human at all. 

“I’m warning you.” It spoke again, this time its voice quivered a bit as Yixing carefully cuffed its hands. Chanyeol pressed the button that released it and it whimpered quietly as it hurt it. “You have to leave.” 

“You’re not really in the position to give orders here,” Chanyeol said, getting up and forcingly holding it, though it was obvious that the boy couldn’t walk. 

“Carry it.” Yixing suggested and Chanyeol nodded, lifting it and carrying it on his back. 

“Let me go.” It screamed once and Yixing glanced at it. 

“If you scream again, I’ll make sure to shut you up.” The words danced slowly to his lips, his tone wasn’t harsh but it was enough for the boy to comply. Chanyeol carried it to the ship, dropping him to the ground as soon as Jongdae appeared and he looked quite confused. “I’ll call the others back. Keep an eye on it for me, please.” 

Walking to the cabin, Chanyeol pressed a button and made the signal for them to come back - which was two loud beeps, that could be heard in a radius up to 5km. He returned to the door, noticing that the boy wasn’t there anymore. He waited for the members to arrive, answering their questions with an “I’ll explain later”. The last one was Luhan, who was dragging a giant sack with him, and he smiled at him. 

“Take us out of here. We might have gotten ourselves into trouble.” He said, and he took the sack from him, carrying it to the basement of the ship. Sehun and Jongin were there, categorizing their items and they looked up at him as he entered the room. 

“Why did you call us earlier?” Jongin asked. 

“You will see.” He answered, smirking. “Call the others and come to the second basement.” 

Chanyeol went down the stairs, which led to the tiny second basement they used to traffic animals or forbidden items. It was dark and it was hot, but Jongdae turned the weak light on. He could see that they tied the boy to a chair as Yixing treated its wound. 

“It’s fascinating,” Yixing spoke as he poured some of his magical recipes to the cut. “I wish I could study it.” 

“I’m not an it.” The boy said, visibly annoyed at the constant use of that word. 

“If you have a name, then you’re not an it.” Jongdae agreed. 

“It’s Baekhyun.” It – _he_ – revealed and Chanyeol smiled softly. “You’re all in trouble.” 

“It, no, he is saying that since he got here,” Jongdae commented, lazily watching him, and apparently, he didn’t think Baekhyun was odd or intriguing. 

“I think he is just threatening us.” Chanyeol laughed softly and he sat down, facing Baekhyun. He could see now that his eyes were too bright, and he had never seen the tone of his hair before. His skin was flawless and he didn’t have black circles under his eyes like ordinary humans did. In fact, Chanyeol couldn’t see a single imperfection on his face, he didn’t have any frown lines or wrinkles. It also looked like he was wearing lipstick because his mouth was impeccably pink. Chanyeol wondered if he had ever seen something as beautiful as Baekhyun before, and he knew the answer for that very well. 

The sound of footsteps woke him up from his thoughts and he cocked his head, watching as all the boys approached them. Baekhyun’s confidence died a little as they kept coming and Chanyeol could see how he bit his lips nervously. 

“Is this…” Kyungsoo started as he stepped into the room and Chanyeol smiled, nodding. 

“His blood is blue. He looks like an Alpha to me.” Chanyeol replied. “His name is Baekhyun.” 

“It even has a name!” Yifan exclaimed, visibly excited with the thought of getting rich by selling the Alpha to Kim Daesung. Slowly, he moved closer to him, harshly holding his chin and gazing into his eyes, as though he was analyzing him. 

“How did you find him?” Sehun asked, and Baekhyun peered at him, his expression softening a bit as they held eye contact. 

“He fell right into our trap,” Chanyeol explained, leaning on a barrel and crossing his arms. 

“Can it talk?” Yifan let his face go. 

“I’m not stupid,” Baekhyun spoke, and his tone was calm. Surprisingly, the only time he raised his voice was when they captured him, but since then Baekhyun’s tone was composed, almost polite. 

“It’s a pity we can’t keep you,” Yixing muttered as he finished cleaning his wound and he wrapped a bandage around it. “I would love to know more about you, your culture, your body.” 

“I’m sure Jongdae will make a better use of him.” Kyungsoo chuckled, and Baekhyun frowned a bit at the unknown name mention. 

“So.” Chanyeol cleared his throat after a few minutes. “You can all go back to your duties. I’ll be personally responsible for Baekhyun. Yifan, you’re in charge of everything as I’m busy with him.” 

Yifan quickly nodded and he smirked at them. 

“You heard them, I’m the captain so you all better move your asses and go do something useful.” 

Obviously, some of them mocked him for that and teased him, since Yifan would always act like that when he was in control, but they all ended up leaving the room one by one. It was just Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Yixing and Jongdae now, sharing an awkward silence. 

“What do you eat?” Jongdae asked in a sweet voice. “And what do rabbits eat?”

“Rabbits eat plants, but I assume you don’t have this here,” Baekhyun answered. “You can feed them with what you have, just don’t give them meat. I can’t eat meat either.” 

“Are Alphas vegetarians?” Yixing inquired, and the other shook his head. 

“We feed on sunlight like plants do,” Baekhyun said and all of them widened their eyes, shocked. How come someone could live only with light? Well, it was true that Baekhyun was no human, but his body was so similar and Chanyeol thought it would work the same way. “But again, you don’t have light here. I can eat plants and vegetables, but meat is like poison to me.”

“Jongdae will feed you twice a day then,” Chanyeol spoke, watching Baekhyun, and he pointed at a small cell they had there. “I’ll untie you when you are there. We will stay together for a few weeks, and I expect you won’t make our journey particularly difficult.” 

“Don’t worry, captain.” Baekhyun smiled, gazing at his eyes. “I am no danger to you all.” 

Chanyeol sighed, moving closer and untying Baekhyun from the chair. He kept the cuffs on his hands and then he guided him to the cell, locking it. Baekhyun sat on the floor, and he didn’t seem bothered by the fact that his clothes could get dirty by the dust. He gazed up at Chanyeol, staring him directly.

“What were you doing in Elysium?” Baekhyun blurted out, his tone rather bored. “I mean, you humans appear once in a while there, but no one ever dared to enter the Forest.” 

“We sell things,” Chanyeol answered, moving his eyes away as Baekhyun’s gaze was getting uncomfortable. “Animals and plants, mostly.” 

“You intend to sell me then?” Baekhyun laughed softly and then breathed out, resting his head on the wall. “Humans just don’t change.” 

“What do you even know about humans?” 

“We know a lot, captain. We study your story so we won’t ever commit your mistakes.” Baekhyun said, smirking and Chanyeol glanced at him again. “We understand you will keep repeating them, though.” 

Raising an eyebrow, Chanyeol sat on a crate. 

“You think you are better than us, boy?” Chanyeol asked. 

“At least we don’t do violence,” Baekhyun answered. “Your problem is that you all think you can solve anything with violence. But what violence brought you? The Great War and destruction.” 

“Violence brought us peace,” Chanyeol said after a few seconds and Baekhyun chuckled softly. It was the first time he heard that, and although it was a fake laugh, it was still beautiful. 

“That’s what you call peace, captain? Trafficking animals and people to survive?” Baekhyun inquired and he shook his head, sighing. “Peace is not ever fearing anything or anyone. I thought I could have peace and safety in Elysium, but you humans decided it would be a good idea to traffic people from other planets.” 

“You’re distorting things.” Chanyeol stopped him and he felt a bit offended at his words. “You don’t know Earth. You don’t know how things are, it’s not a choice. If I don’t do this, I don’t have money to live.” 

“It’s not your fault, of course.” Baekhyun’s tone was smooth, almost apologetic. “It’s part of human nature to be greedy and cruel. The elite is never satisfied and they always want more.” 

“I can’t change the system.” Chanyeol sighed. “Whether you like it or not, I have to do my job and sell you.” 

A sad smile appeared on Baekhyun’s lips and he nodded quietly. 

“We are victims of the system then, Chanyeol.” He spoke and Chanyeol was surprised he even remembered his name. He thought about replying, but he had things to do and his pager rang as Jongdae needed help. 

“Jongdae will bring you food soon. Don’t do anything to try to escape.” He warned and the other only giggled, probably amused with that. Chanyeol wondered how could he act like that when he was about to be sold, and he made a mental note of talking to Yixing later. Perhaps Baekhyun was really threatening them when he said they were in trouble, and that’s why he was acting so calmly all the time. 

It was hard to sleep that night, and somehow Baekhyun’s words kept appearing in his mind. The way he portrayed the humans didn’t please him at all, mostly because he spoke as though it was their fault, as though he was actually happy to live like this. He was satisfied and glad to have food in his stomach and money in his pocket, that’s all that should matter, he told himself. When he finally fell asleep, he dreamed of Baekhyun’s piercing eyes and enticing personality. 

As soon as he woke up, the first thing he did was going to the second basement. He had a nightmare in which Baekhyun escaped and he could only think about the thousand dollars he would lose if that happened. Almost running, he reached the small room, but he stopped walking as soon as he heard a voice coming from it. He hid behind a shelf, watching them. 

“Rabbits are not the only animals that we have.” Baekhyun giggled and his tone was gentle and friendly. 

“I had a rat when I was a child.” The other spoke, and Chanyeol immediately recognized the voice as Sehun. “But it died within a few months. Some guys were playing around and they killed it.” 

“I’ve heard human kids can be quite cruel,” Baekhyun answered. 

“All kids are mean.” 

“Oh, no. We teach our child to love animals and to love each other. We don’t allow violence.” Baekhyun smiled and then he looked at the side, laughing. “Captain.” 

Sehun immediately rose up, cocking his head and finding Chanyeol there. 

“I came to check on him,” Sehun explained and Chanyeol smiled softly, coming closer. 

“Don’t worry.” He said and when Sehun intended to leave, he held his wrist. “You can stay and talk to him if you want.” 

“Are you interested in talking to me, Chanyeol?” Baekhyun asked and Chanyeol chuckled low. 

“I believe you have some secret power,” Chanyeol spoke, sitting on the crate. “I need to know more about you.” 

“What kind of power would I have?” Baekhyun sounded amused at that and he gazed at him. His green eyes looked like a cat’s eyes, and Chanyeol wondered how could he not have any dark circles at all. 

“You are mysterious, that’s for sure.” Chanyeol started. “I bet all the boys have come visit you.” 

“Some of them did,” Baekhyun confessed. “But it’s normal for you all to be curious about me.” 

“Aren’t you curious about us?” Sehun inquired and Baekhyun denied.

“I read a lot about humans. Have you ever read about Alphas?” Both of them shook their head and Baekhyun grinned. “Yixing came earlier and he knew some things about us. I assume it’s not common knowledge then?” 

“To be honest, I thought Yixing was crazy for believing Alphas are real,” Sehun replied and Chanyeol silently agreed with him. “There is a legend about an evolved human race, but we thought it was a myth.” 

“That’s interesting. Evolved human race? I never thought of myself like this.” Baekhyun muttered and then he looked at them. “I am what I am. We might look similar but we are totally different.” 

“What makes you different?” Chanyeol asked. “Can you teleport and things like this?” 

“No.” He laughed and the simple fact that Baekhyun was seemingly enjoying that conversation made Chanyeol confused. “But we don’t believe in violence and we live for much longer than humans. We pray for our Creator and we respect all the animals and plants. We feed on sunlight… there are more cultural differences, of course.” 

“How old are you?” 

“I’m currently 85 human years. I’m still a baby compared to the others.” Baekhyun answered and bit his lip, sighing. It was one of the rare seconds in which he actually looked human. “Maybe that’s why I fell into your stupid trap.” 

“Woah, you were alive when The Great War happened?” 

“I was alive, Sehun. It was a sad time for us.” He said and then closed his eyes for a moment. “Why were you fighting over such meaningless things?” 

“It wasn’t meaningless, not for those who were fighting.” Chanyeol finally spoke and Baekhyun glanced at him. “You really think you’re better than us.” 

“I think our people might know better how to live, yes.” Baekhyun corrected him. “You saw Elysium with your own eyes, Chanyeol. I still haven’t been personally on Earth, but from what I’ve seen, it doesn’t really look like a pleasant place. It was, once, but you devastated it.” 

“You will be there, soon.” Chanyeol reminded him. “If you have read so much, you will know what they will do to you.” 

Sehun swallowed and peered at him, opening his mouth and then closing. Baekhyun smiled sadly. 

“I know what will happen.” Baekhyun started. “I assume I won’t be a slave, though. You will probably want to study me and torture me to get answers.” 

“We won’t have anything to do with it,” Sehun said, as though he was defending himself. “You know I don’t want to hurt you, but…” 

“There’s always a but, isn't it? There is always violence involved.” Baekhyun scoffed at his words. 

“You need to understand what is going on, Baekhyun. You’re out of your dreamy world and people outside do anything to get some food and money.” Chanyeol spoke, trying to get a reaction from him, but he just gazed at him with his piercing eyes. “You’re hurt already and you’re going to get much more hurt.”

“I know,” Baekhyun replied and that same smile was still plastered to his lips.

“And aren’t you afraid?” Chanyeol whispered, coming closer and shoving his hand into the cell, grabbing his collar. “How can you be talking to us when we are about to sell you?” 

“I don’t have much of a choice and I believe this journey won’t be so boring if I talk to you.” 

Groaning low, Chanyeol let him go. He got up and unlocked the cell, taking the handcuffs off. Sehun glanced at them, confused, and he moved his hand to the knife in his belt, because Baekhyun could be dangerous. 

“Wouldn’t you hurt me?” Chanyeol asked, looking at him. “I was the one who set that trap.” 

“What’s the point of hurting you, captain?” Baekhyun laughed, not moving an inch. “I would only end up more hurt, and I told you, I don’t do violence.” 

Chanyeol gnawed on his lower lip. Baekhyun didn’t sound so confident when he captured him, he actually screamed for him to let him go and he even threatened them. It didn’t make sense for Chanyeol, and he wondered if Baekhyun was inventing all that stuff of no violence just to flee away. His head ached as Baekhyun kept messing with him and he got out of the cell, locking it again and sitting down. 

“You’re up to something,” Chanyeol mumbled. “You’re hiding something.”

“We all hide something to ourselves, don’t we?” Baekhyun spoke and Chanyeol got up, pulling Sehun by his wrist. The younger man seemed lost as he didn’t understand why Chanyeol was acting like this, and he let him go as they reached the kitchen. 

“We don’t know what we are dealing with.” Chanyeol started, gazing at him. “I think he is dangerous.” 

“He doesn’t look like he is, Chanyeol,” Sehun answered, sitting down and fetching a glass of water. “Yixing also said Alphas are peaceful. Maybe we should talk to him.” 

“About what?” Yixing entered the kitchen, carrying some plants with him. 

“I think Baekhyun is up to something,” Chanyeol replied and the other laughed at that. 

“What can he really do, Yeol? We are ten and he’s one. He can’t even fight us.” 

“Maybe he has some superpowers, I don’t know.” Chanyeol sighed and Yixing shook his head. 

“If he had, he wouldn’t have been captured at first place. He would have killed us in the forest. He couldn’t even free himself from the ambush, Chanyeol.” Yixing spoke softly and he rested his hand on his shoulder, gently squeezing it. “Don’t worry too much, ok? We got this under control.” 

Sehun immediately nodded, smiling reassuringly. 

“We can do this,” Sehun affirmed and Chanyeol nodded, sighing. He didn’t know why Baekhyun had this effect on him, and he wondered if he was the only one who was being affected by him. 

The boys told him to relax and to just wait to the end of their journey, however, Chanyeol’s instincts kept telling him not to. Jongdae even offered to stay with Baekhyun, but Chanyeol couldn’t accept it. Although he only knew Baekhyun for 24 hours, he already felt attracted to him, as he couldn’t stop thinking about his words. Baekhyun acted as though he was the most peaceful being in the universe, yet Chanyeol felt that it wasn’t safe to trust him. 

If Baekhyun was peaceful as he said he was, would he simply accept that he was going to be sold to the black market or something worse? That he would be hurt and harassed until he died? How could someone accept that so passively, without even trying to fight back? It didn’t make sense to Chanyeol. Therefore, the only possible explanation was that Baekhyun was lying to him and he was trying to earn their trust just to stab them in the back. Maybe he was waiting for the perfect occasion to use a power or something and kill all of them and go back home. 

As a bug attracted by the light, Chanyeol walked downstairs in the next day, expecting to not find Baekhyun there. He held the cable of the knife that was securely attached to his belt and approached the cell slowly, but again, Baekhyun announced his arrival by calling him “captain”. 

“You don’t look like you have been sleeping well, captain,” Baekhyun spoke, lazily eating the food Jongdae prepared to him. Chanyeol could see some green things in there and he assumed he had used the plants he was planning to sell later to make Baekhyun’s lunch. “And I feel like it’s somehow my fault.” 

“You think this is fun?” Chanyeol growled, looking at him. His green eyes were in a faint yellow tone today and Chanyeol wondered if he was imagining things. 

“Yes.” Baekhyun smiled and he munched slowly. “You can ask anything you want to me if it’s me who’s been keeping you up at night.” 

“Fine,” Chanyeol answered, sitting down. “Do you have the ability to hurt someone?” 

“I have the same body that you have, captain.” Baekhyun sipped from the water and gazed at him. “Technically, I do, but that doesn’t mean I’ll hurt someone.” 

“Would you kill someone if your life depended on it?” 

“That’s a tricky question.” Baekhyun started, putting his fork down. “Let’s imagine you’re holding the knife you have at your belt and you’re aiming it at me. You have your reason to kill me, I suppose.” He made a small pause before he continued. “If I kill you instead, I will become you. I will have blood on my hands just like you would have.” 

“It’s different.” Chanyeol retorted. “If I’m killing you, it’s murderer, but when you kill me you’re simply defending yourself.” 

“Is that how you humans call it?” He chuckled smoothly. “It’s murderer anyway, Chanyeol. I had my reasons to kill you just like you had your reasons to kill me. Killing a murderer makes me a murderer as well.” 

Chanyeol bit his lips and he decided not to think too much about it for now. He knew those words would bother him in his sleep no matter what he did. Therefore, he went to the next question. 

“Why did you threat us?”

“I was scared,” Baekhyun confessed and sighed. “I thought it would work to make you let me go. The truth is that there is no one after me. My family probably doesn’t know I’m missing.” 

“You have a family?” 

“Of course I do. Our society consists of families living together, but we don’t have a king or something like that. We share everything we have and we help each other when we need.”

“Can you have children? How do you reproduce?” 

“In the same way humans do, though females and males only get pregnant if they want,” Baekhyun spoke, laughing at Chanyeol’s surprised face. “Yeah, males can get pregnant as well.” 

“So you fall in love?” Chanyeol asked and Baekhyun’s eyes suddenly became too much. He looked down, blushing a bit as Baekhyun was staring at him. 

“We love all our brothers and sisters, but yes, we can fall in love in a romantic way. We can have sex as well.” Baekhyun said and then he smiled. “If it’s easier for you to understand, you can think of Elysium as the Earth that succeeded.” 

“Then you admit you’re better than humans,” Chanyeol muttered. 

“You’re cute.” Baekhyun giggled quietly and Chanyeol oddly blushed more. “You’re still hurt over this, aren’t you? Do you have so much faith in the human race?” 

Chanyeol lifted his head, watching him. Baekhyun was, certainly, the most beautiful being he had ever seen, although he was a male and he usually didn’t think these things of men. He assigned this to the fact that Baekhyun wasn’t human and he probably had some power to attract people. He was good with words as well, Chanyeol had to admit, and he knew that he had a lot to think after their talk end. 

“It’s my race, I shouldn’t simply give up on it.” Chanyeol finally answered. 

“But you don’t really agree with them, do you?” Baekhyun spoke in a low voice, moving closer to the grids. 

“No,” Chanyeol whispered and looked at him. “Tell me, please. What power do you have?” 

“I already told you, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun’s voice was nothing but a murmur and his eyes looked gentle and friendly. “Our race’s biggest power is to think.” 

Chanyeol moved away after a few moments. Baekhyun had this ability to make him exhausted with a single conversation and his head ached as hell. He decided to go back to bed, but of course, he met Yifan in the way. 

“Are you sick, Yeol?” He asked and Chanyeol wondered if he was looking like shit because he was the second person to tell him that. 

“I’m not sleeping very well, that’s all.” He replied and sighed. “Did you message Daesung?” 

“Yeah. He’s keeping it a secret, but he’s very excited to get the Alpha.” Yifan smiled at that. “That creature is very interesting – he talks to most of us but he’s usually silent with me.” 

_No_ , Yifan had given him another matter to think about. Why was Baekhyun showing different behavior with each one of them? Why wouldn’t he talk to Yifan if he never stopped talking when Chanyeol was there? 

“Good. Make sure everything goes right and don’t let Luhan explode the ship.” Chanyeol answered, rubbing his temple. 

“Make sure to get some sleep, you look awful,” Yifan said, patting his shoulder before he left. Chanyeol went straight to the bed, laying down and facing the metal ceiling. Definitely, Chanyeol didn’t defend violence, but it was a natural part of his life. He had grown up used to it, he fought as a kid, he fought against other kids and when he grew up he fought against anything in his way. A few days before, he wouldn’t be able to imagine a world without violence and cruelty, but now that possibility crossed his mind. When he met Elysium, he felt something he never did. Peace. Safety. Life. 

There was life in that foreign planet, a life he couldn’t find on Earth anymore. The gray sky was depressing in comparison to the bright blue one he had seen in Elysium. The animals were all dead on Earth, the ones that were still raised to become food were too expensive and the pets were rare. Sehun’s rat was almost a myth, they wouldn’t have believed him if Jongin hadn’t confirmed it. Plants and vegetable barely could be found, and their meal was basically canned tasteless food. A planet inhabited by humans, filled with ashes and corpses. 

In the other side, there was Elysium, with its peaceful politics. Although Baekhyun was the only Alpha Chanyeol had ever met, he started to believe him. It made sense that peace had led to a perfect, conserved planet. Chanyeol bit his lips – his mouth was almost bleeding because it was becoming a habit – as he thought about Baekhyun’s words. He had never thought about murder in that way, and he hated himself as he admitted that Baekhyun might be right. It felt wrong to just accept to be killed, but he assumed Baekhyun would rather die than to have blood on his hands. Chanyeol remembered the first people he killed and they still haunted him. Perhaps that’s why Baekhyun chose not to fight back, maybe he couldn’t deal with the ghosts. 

It wasn’t like he had a choice anyway, Chanyeol concluded as he closed his eyes. If he decided to be peaceful, he could end up killed by other gang or he could starve to death. His parents probably had died like this, he had lost uncountable friends as well. He wasn’t really fighting to get peace – maybe that’s what Baekhyun meant when he talked about the meaningless things. There was no reason why he kept contributing to the violence growth, besides his attempt to survive in the ruthless world. 

“I’m human,” Chanyeol muttered, pressing his forehead with his both hands. “I live on Earth. Elysium is like paradise, we can’t have it.” 

It was unfair as he thought about it. He was pretty sure all of them would prefer to live on that planet if they had the choice, yet they all were born as humans and they had to accept their condition. Elysium’s beliefs would never work on Earth… Perhaps the main problem was the human race after all. 

_”Do you have so much faith in the human race?”_ Baekhyun’s voice reverberated in his mind and he cursed low. Three days were enough to mess his head up, and maybe he really should keep a distance from Baekhyun. Someone needed to watch him, though, and Chanyeol considered himself the most appropriated to do so. Perhaps Yixing could do it as well, but he decided to not involve anyone’s else in this. Not that it made any difference, they all went visit him despite Chanyeol’s thoughts. 

It felt like he was the prisoner, not Baekhyun, and he was the one being tortured. The Alpha had been able to break him in a few days and short conversations, and Chanyeol knew he wouldn’t be that weak if he hadn’t seen Elysium or if Baekhyun were human. Never before a human had disturbed him like this, nor did he believe a human would have the power to do so. Thus, Chanyeol felt better as he was sure Baekhyun was able to do so because he was a magical creature. Chanyeol had also been on the planet and it confirmed Baekhyun’s pacifist speech. 

Chanyeol managed to fall asleep after some hours, and this time he dreamed of Elysium. He could see everything Baekhyun told him, the peaceful families, the beautiful landscapes, and he could even feel the love Baekhyun described to him. Baekhyun wasn’t a menacing presence this time, his eyes were sweet and his smile was pure. For the first time in days, Chanyeol slept well and felt in peace. 

He went downstairs in the next day, bringing Baekhyun’s food with him, and he entered the cell. Baekhyun was laying down and he looked up, a bit surprised that it was Chanyeol and not Jongdae. 

“Sit down, you have to eat. Jongdae told me you didn’t eat the dinner.” Chanyeol said. 

“My stomach isn't used to eating so much food,” Baekhyun spoke, sitting down. He took the bowl from him, gazing at it. “I really needed sunlight.” 

“Sorry, you will have to survive with this,” Chanyeol muttered and he looked at his leg. “Is it better?” 

“I heal fast and Yixing is good at curing wounds,” Baekhyun answered, ignoring his painful stomach. He knew without sunlight he would get weak faster, and the only alternative he had now was to eat that. 

“You are the one who doesn’t look like you had a good night,” Chanyeol observed, though deep down he was worried about him. If he died, he would still be valuable, but he wouldn’t be worthy thousand dollars. “Do you feel sick? We could take you to a room.” 

“My body will get used to food soon, don’t worry.” Baekhyun sighed, munching quietly. Chanyeol nodded, taking a piece of dry meat and biting it. Baekhyun widened his eyes as he saw him and Chanyeol smirked. Finally, a reaction. “Please don’t do that in front of me.” 

“Oh, God.” Chanyeol laughed, eating the meat carefully and watching him. “You’re not faking it at all, are you? You look like you could die just from seeing me eat this. Is this violence too?” 

“Yes.” He whined and he dropped his fork. “Please. Please.” 

“Are you really affected by this?” Chanyeol asked, finishing his piece. Baekhyun got white and he could see real pain in his face. 

“Please.” He begged and Chanyeol was indeed shocked. Baekhyun wasn’t lying after all. 

“Are you okay?” Chanyeol checked after a while since Baekhyun was quiet. 

“We usually don’t see that,” Baekhyun muttered, finally starting to eat again. “Please don’t do that in front of me again.” 

Although Chanyeol knew that was nothing compared to what Baekhyun would have to endure, he decided not to mention it this time. He nodded and sat down, watching Baekhyun. He could feel a sweet, addictive fragrance coming from his skin as he was close to him and he wondered why he didn’t notice that before. 

“Did any of the boys come today?” 

“Sehun comes every day.” Baekhyun answered, drinking his water. “I met Luhan too. Yifan came and so did Kyungsoo.” 

“You don’t talk a lot to them, do you?” Chanyeol inquired, staring at him. Baekhyun looked up at him, arching his eyebrows and he nodded after a few seconds. “Why? You talk a lot to me.” 

“I don’t know,” Baekhyun spoke and Chanyeol felt as though he was lying to him. There was probably a reason behind it, but he wouldn’t force him to tell him what it was. 

“I still think you have a secret power.” Chanyeol blurted out, breaking the awkward silence.

“I told you. I think a lot.” Baekhyun smiled at him. “Do you have any questions for me today?” 

“Yeah.” He spoke. “Do you think the Alphas may become humans someday? Do you think Elysium can become the Earth?” 

“I think having a setback is harder than having progress. You see, human instincts are surviving no matter what. Your culture has taught you to be greedy and to step on other people if you need to. That’s why things got to this point. But our primary instinct is to help and to love.” Baekhyun explained. 

“It’s impossible for us to have a planet like yours, then,” Chanyeol concluded. 

“I don’t think so. You see, we believe our Creator made us from the pure spirits of Earth. We believe that the soul of every child that is born in Elysium belongs to a human spirit that deserved a better life.” 

“You have a religion then?” Chanyeol asked, curious. 

“It’s not the religions you know, but yes. We have a Creator and we thank Him for our lives.” He said. “I believe Earth might be a purgatory, and souls who are willing to get better have a chance at Elysium.” 

“What if this soul isn’t pure enough?” 

“There is no such thing.” Baekhyun smiled, putting the fork down. “When you are raised in a no violence society when you learn the benefits of peace, you won’t ever become a violent soul.” 

“Do you think the Earth can be fixed?” This time, Baekhyun took a while to answer, probably searching for the best one. 

“I believe it’s hard to fix all the damage. Biologically speaking, the Earth can never recover from the damage from the nuclear war. I don’t know if it’s possible to stay away from war and live a peaceful life.” Baekhyun spoke and he glanced at Chanyeol. “Are your parents alive?”

“I don’t have parents,” Chanyeol muttered. Baekhyun frowned at that and Chanyeol breathed out slowly. “None of us have. We never got to know them. Jongin knew his mother for about three years, but she died right after she had Sehun.” 

“How can you know love if you don’t have parents?” Baekhyun asked, apparently confused. 

“I love my friends. I loved a girl once.” Chanyeol said and Baekhyun shook his head. 

“I think our kind of love is different, Chanyeol. The way we feel it is different. I don’t think it’s possible to know the true love if you don’t have peace or a family.” 

“I think it’s impossible for us to know it in the same way.” Chanyeol agreed, looking at him. “You… Your world is perfect. I think this is what’s messing with my mind lately. It’s hard to know Elysium and acknowledge that you don’t belong there, that your home planet is only ashes and ruins.”

“I told you that the souls that are ready to go can be born as Alphas.” Baekhyun smiled and he took his hand. It was the first time Baekhyun touched him tenderly and he can feel his smooth skin, his warm fingers closing around his own. “I was human once, too.” 

“That’s why you know so much?” He whispered, resting his eyes on their hands. 

“Yeah, and we can see Earth in our dreams. We can visit it, as though we are spirits.” Baekhyun answered, gently stroking the calloused fingers. “Humans have the Devil to be scared of, and Alphas have the human race. We don’t want to become humans.” 

“Is that what happens if an Alpha becomes violent? That’s why you’re so against to violence?” 

Biting his lips, Baekhyun raised his eyes. Once again, his expression looked rather humane, not showing the usual cold gaze he had. Slowly, he nodded. 

“It’s a legend, though. I don’t think this has ever happened. But if we lose our essence, we become humans again. Our body is basically the same, but our essence is what differs us from you.” 

“You prefer to…” Chanyeol started and he took a deep breath before he continued. “To be hurt and to suffer, to be alone in a foreign planet… than to be human again?” 

“I prefer to suffer and to be hurt than to hurt others,” Baekhyun said and he squeezes his hand softly before he let it go. “It’s not necessarily the possibility of becoming human that scares me… but losing my essence.” 

Footsteps woke Chanyeol from his thoughts and he cocked his head, seeing Yixing. The latter approached, a bit surprised at how both boys were sitting close and he entered the cell with a flask in his hands. He kneeled down and he smiled as he saw the empty bowl. 

“Did your stomach get better?” Yixing asked and the other nodded. Yixing held his face, analyzing him. “You need to eat, Baekhyun. We will arrive in a week and a half and you can stay a whole day in the sunlight, but you need to eat whilst.” 

“I’m eating,” Baekhyun assured him. 

“Good,” Yixing said and he pulled his leg, stretching it. He unwrapped the bandages, checking on the wound. Baekhyun healed faster, indeed, and he didn’t wince as Yixing poured the flask content on it. He wiped it with a clean cloth and wrapped his leg again. “It’s almost healed.” He got up and patted Chanyeol’s shoulder. “Come with me, Yeol. Let Baekhyun rest.” 

Chanyeol got up, and Baekhyun kept looking at him as he left. Yixing sighed, going to the basement to help Sehun to feed the rabbits. Yifan was there as well, though he was resting as he watched Sehun working.

“It’s weird how we are taking care of him to deliver him to Daesung. Baekhyun will probably die in his hands.” Sehun muttered. 

“We are doing our job, Sehun. We deliver the best items in the best conditions.” Yifan answered, and Chanyeol bit his lips. 

Was Baekhyun really a merchandise, something that should be sold? Baekhyun could talk, could think and could love, just like human beings, and suddenly Chanyeol felt as though he was one of the slave’s traffickers. Yifan used to be one of them, and maybe that was the reason why he wasn’t affected by the situation at all. 

“Do you intend on getting more Alphas after we deliver him?” Chanyeol asked. He was the leader, yet he wanted to know if Yifan would like to do that. 

“If I could, yeah. They are profitable as fuck.” Yifan spoke.

“I thought you had quit trafficking people,” Chanyeol muttered and Yifan raised his eyes, facing him. 

“He’s not a person, Chanyeol.” He retorted, arching one eyebrow. “He’s an alien. You should pay attention to him. He’s trying to fuck your mind and make you free him.” 

“Hey.” Yixing stopped feeding the rabbits and turned around. “Whether we accept the next missions or not, we will discuss it together, as we always do.” He said and gazed at Chanyeol. “His culture is very different from ours, and we don’t know him fully, so don’t trust him.” 

“I’m not trusting him.” Chanyeol sighed. “He just looks a lot with a human and I never trafficked people before, that’s all.” 

“Don’t worry, Chanyeol.” Yifan got up, smirking softly. “It gets easier after the first one.” 

 

 

The following weeks passed fairly fast and Chanyeol’s routine remained the same. Every day, he would go downstairs and talk to Baekhyun. Sometimes, he would find Sehun there, talking to Baekhyun, and their conversations seemed light and friendly. Every time he talked to Baekhyun, they would get deep and Baekhyun would get philosophic. It bothered him in the beginning when he couldn’t stop thinking about his words, but soon he actually enjoyed that. 

It didn’t hurt him anymore as soon as he learned that humans were different from Alphas and the Earth was different from Elysium. Even if the no violence politics looked truly beautiful, he knew that his human instinct wouldn’t allow him to follow it, nor would he survive on Earth for long. 

What actually troubled him was the fact that they would arrive Earth within a day. Luhan had announced they would land a day earlier than the calculated, and most of them celebrated it, but Chanyeol couldn’t stop thinking that this meant Baekhyun going away forever. He would be lying if he said he didn’t develop some kind of affection towards the other, and Baekhyun became more and more attractive as they grew closer. Perhaps Baekhyun represented a perfect person, both physically and mentally, therefore Chanyeol fell into his trap rapidly. 

The last day came and this time the stairs felt longer than usual, his legs felt heavier than ever. Chanyeol’s heart tightened as he thought about Baekhyun’s warming eyes, his harsh though sweet words and his enticing scent. When he finished going down the stairs, he heard Baekhyun’s voice. 

Baekhyun was singing. 

It was a song about faith and love, and Chanyeol hid as he listened to him. His voice was beautiful and powerful, enough to stun him, and Chanyeol could feel the emotion on it. He didn’t know Baekhyun could sing, neither that his voice would be mellow. 

“Captain.” He called as the song ended and Chanyeol came closer, entering the cell. There were tears on Baekhyun’s face, the Alpha didn’t look up and he hugged his knees, looking frail for the first time. “So I believe this is how it feels when you’re facing your death.” 

Chanyeol sat down, watching him. Baekhyun surely didn’t look healthy, but Yixing assured him that he would look better as soon as they reached Earth. He needed sunlight to feed properly and he wasn’t well nourished lately. 

“Hey, you won’t die,” Chanyeol said, useless trying to make him feel a bit better. “You’re too valuable to die.” 

“After all, I’m an item,” Baekhyun muttered and he raised his eyes, staring at him. “I can see you, Chanyeol. You aren’t a bad person… you just never met the real love.” 

“What do you mean?” Chanyeol whispered. 

“You don’t like this situation, do you? You aren’t a trafficker like Yifan was.” He kept his tone low as he mentioned the other and he sighed. “I believe a frozen heart is different from a heart of stone. Melting a frozen one is easier than breaking all the rocks around the other.” He added, being pensive again. “See, Chanyeol, we were talking all this time about violence and peace. You treated me good, despite my position here. You can choose to be good, even if your path is surrounded by the evil.” 

Chanyeol smiled sadly and he nodded. 

“I learned a lot with you.” He confessed. “And I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing.” 

“Once you open your eyes, you can’t close them again, not without feeling guilty,” Baekhyun spoke and he grinned. “Thank you for teaching me about humans. There was a lot I would never learn from books.” 

“Are you scared?” Chanyeol blurted out and Baekhyun nodded. 

“I am. But I believe even the pain teaches us.” He whispered, biting his lips. “Even if I die… My life wasn’t meaningless. And when I am reborn, I will be a better person.” 

“I’m sorry this is happening.” Chanyeol murmured, grabbing his hands and holding it firmly, as though he wanted to feel him there. “I wish I had never accepted this.” 

“Then you wouldn’t get to know me, would you?” Baekhyun smiled bitterly. “Everything happens for a reason, Chanyeol. Even if you decided to not talk to me and not listen to me, then I would be profitable for you. I am in your life for a reason.” 

“How can you be so calm?” Chanyeol muttered, squeezing his hands. 

“I’m not human, Chanyeol. I can understand some things better.” He said reassuringly. “And I have my superpower, right?” 

Chanyeol silently nodded and he looked up, sighing. Their eyes met and he could feel that weird attraction he felt towards him, though it was stronger this time. He wouldn’t admit that he would miss Baekhyun’s presence and he felt as a criminal as they were about to sell someone pure and wise as him. 

The ship moved briskly and Chanyeol held Baekhyun as he fell on him. The sudden movements meant that they were landing and Chanyeol’s heart hurt as the clock ran fast. When they stopped, Chanyeol let him go and he swallowed, gazing at him. 

“I’m sorry,” Chanyeol whispered and Yifan entered the basement. He looked at them and he saw they were holding hands. 

“Baekhyun, time to go.” He announced, moving closer and he roughly grabbed Baekhyun’s wrist. Before Chanyeol can leave too, he pushed him back and locked the cell. “Sorry, Yeol. It’s just until I deliver it.” 

“What? Yifan, unlock the door.” Chanyeol said and he watched as Yifan cuffed Baekhyun, who showed no resistance. 

“This thing has messed you up, Yeol,” Yifan spoke, sighing. “I’ll come back at night and let you go, ok?”.

“Yifan”. Chanyeol called him, grabbing the cell bars. The other gazed at him, visibly annoyed and he arched one eyebrow, smirking lightly. “Let me go. I want to take him to Daesung with you.” 

“You do?” Yifan tsked. “I will be back soon, Yeol, don’t worry.” 

Yifan pulled Baekhyun’s arm, forcing him to walk and Chanyeol tried to ask him to let him go, but it didn’t work at all. Soon enough he heard the noise of the door being closed and he growled in frustration, kicking the nearest object. 

Chanyeol didn’t think about letting Baekhyun escape, therefore it bothered him deeply the situation he found himself in now. He didn’t say goodbye properly to Baekhyun and he couldn’t assure he was going to be treated right. He had been considering it for a few days already, and he wanted to tell Daesung that he couldn’t hurt Baekhyun. He didn’t believe the man would hurt him anyway, but he couldn’t predict how he was going to act and he could only hope that he would like Baekhyun at first. 

“Fuck.” He cursed low, sitting down on the floor and he closed his eyes, punching the wall behind him. It was useless and he groaned as his skin ripped with the impact. He hated that Yifan had betrayed him and locked him. It didn’t matter if Yifan had done it for his own sake; he had locked their captain, their leader, and Chanyeol interpreted it as a betrayal. 

He didn’t know when but he fell asleep, dreaming of Baekhyun’s death. It was horrific, the way they had cut him open and let him bleed, and Chanyeol was forced to watch. He woke up with the sound of a key and he muttered Yifan’s name before he felt someone grabbing him roughly.

The green fiery eyes glanced at him, and before Chanyeol could say anything he felt a knife being pressed against his skin. The man holding him had a light-brown hair, flawless porcelain skin, and perfect pink lips, just like Baekhyun had. 

“Where is Baekhyun?” He asked, surprisingly in a calm, composed voice. Chanyeol could feel the same alluring aura around him, but he didn’t feel attracted like he did with Baekhyun. He knew the man in front of him was an Alpha as well as he portrayed the same beauty and perfection, however, Chanyeol couldn’t understand how he got there. 

“He was taken to Kim Daesung.” Chanyeol answered, and he felt the blade being pressed more firmly. “I can take you there.” 

“Try to trick me and I’ll kill you.” He whispered and Chanyeol nodded. The man was shorter than him, but he was certainly menacing and Chanyeol couldn’t understand what was happening. Baekhyun had told him that Alphas were pacific, yet this one was threatening him and carrying a knife. He stole Chanyeol’s gun and he smiled at him. “Let’s go then.” 

He released his shirt and pressed the weapon against his back, muttering for him to start walking. Chanyeol could literally feel his impatience as they climbed the stairs up. Every time he slowed down, the man would press it harder, and it wasn’t a very nice sensation at all. They left the spaceship and he covered his face with the black hood, walking outside. The sun was warm although the sky was cloudy, there was no wind and Chanyeol felt hot. 

“How did you get here?” Chanyeol mumbled, hearing the other one laugh low. 

“I have a ship too.” He spoke softly. “I followed you as I saw you kidnapping my brother.” 

“Oh, about that…” Chanyeol started, not stopping walking. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have landed in Elysium.” 

“You shouldn’t have.” He agreed and looked around, sighing. “How many of you know about Elysium?” 

“Not so many. It’s hard to get there too and there aren’t many booty hunters around.” Chanyeol replied. 

“Good. You humans ruin your own planet and then go after ours.” 

“I won’t go back there,” Chanyeol said and he was being honest. He didn’t think he would have the courage to step on that planet again, let alone try to kidnap an Alpha again. “I promise.” 

“Your promises mean nothing.” He retorted and smiled a bit, though Chanyeol couldn’t see it. “I promise to let you go if you take me to Baekhyun.” 

Chanyeol nodded and they entered the city. Daesung’s mansion was near the entrance, and he bit his lips as he didn’t know what he should do. He intended on dropping the Alpha close to the door, so he could do whatever he wanted, but there was a silent voice in his mind telling him that this was his chance to fix his mistakes. Maybe he could save Baekhyun and make everything go back to normal. He could tell Yifan and the others that he was forced to do so and they would forgive him. 

_They are not stupid_ he thought as he came back to his senses. In fact, even if he just guided the Alpha to the door his members could think he was trying to save Baekhyun willingly. All this plan could fail awfully and he could end up dying by the Alpha, his members or Daesung’s hands. 

All men must die, Chanyeol remembered it, but what would he die for? He recalled Baekhyun telling him about the souls that deserved to go to Elysium and he wondered if he died trying to save Baekhyun he would become an Alpha. Perhaps he would simply die, but Chanyeol always dreamed of dying for something humble and worthy… like Baekhyun. 

He could see Jongin talking to one of the guards and he bit his lips. If he gave a single step, Jongin would spot him and everything would be over. He swallowed, stopping. 

“How will you go in? There are guards around.” Chanyeol asked. 

“Don’t worry about it.” The other said and pulled the gun away. “You will go in with me. I don’t want you warning the others about me.” 

Chanyeol he wanted to refuse it, but the Alpha held his wrist, walking fast. The two guards that were talking to Jongin looked at them and Jongin frowned as he saw his friend there. 

“Mr. Kim isn’t expecting any more visits today.” One of them started and the Alpha smiled, letting Chanyeol go and raising his hands, touching the men’s forehead. Within a second, they fell on the ground and Chanyeol widened his eyes. First of all, he couldn’t understand what he did and if he had actually killed those guys, and he also thought they didn’t have any powers. Baekhyun had assured him that they didn’t have it yet this Alpha just knocked two men out. Before he could hold him, he did the same to Jongin, and Chanyeol knees gave up, only to be firmly held again. 

“He’s not dead.” The other whispered to him as though he read Chanyeol’s mind and Chanyeol didn’t trust him, but he didn’t have a choice. He walked beside him as they entered the mansion, and Chanyeol felt useless as the Alpha knocked down every one that stood in their way. He was silent, hence there was no alarm sounded as they walked along the mansion. Chanyeol thought about going back but he was too far now to give up and he tugged on the man’s arm, pointing to the stairs. He knew Baekhyun would likely to be kept downstairs along with Daesung’s most precious belongings. 

They got down the stairs with light steps and Chanyeol knew that soon enough some man would notice the fallen bodies in the hall. He had never entered Daesung’s gallery, so he was surprised at how large it was. There were some rabbits in the cages, along with birds and some animals he couldn’t identify. On the wall, he could see some stuffed animals and other weird items he didn’t have the time to carefully look at. 

Luckily, they spot Baekhyun easily. He was still going to be kept and tagged, so there was a collar around his neck, attaching him to the wall. Baekhyun was unconscious and the man ran to him, desperately shaking him and calling his name. 

“Baekhyun… wake up.” He kept shaking him until he regained his consciousness and he sat down, looking around, seemingly lost. 

“Minseok.” He whispered and he peered at Chanyeol, frowning. “Chanyeol.” 

“Baekhyun.” The man named Minseok started, making him look at him again. “Are you hurt?” As Baekhyun shook his head, Minseok breathed out in relief and he took his gun, shooting on the wall and releasing the leash on it. “Bear it a bit, I’ll take it off when we leave,” Minseok told him and he turned around, looking at Chanyeol. “I don’t need you anymore.” 

As he walked closer, Baekhyun grabbed his wrist. “Let him go. He will be in trouble if they find him here.” 

Minseok gazed at his eyes for a few seconds, and Chanyeol could feel as though he was analyzing him, wondering what he should do. He ended up nodding and he aimed the gun at Chanyeol. “Behave” he whispered. 

 

Baekhyun bit his lips and he held Minseok’s hand as they walked upstairs. Chanyeol followed them, not being capable to say anything as he was still shocked with everything. He could see the exit and Chanyeol prayed silently, wishing no one would appear and that he would be able to leave the place. 

Chanyeol heard the shot before he felt it and he stumbled forward as he screamed in pain. His shoulder was burning and he turned around, holding his arm in a fail attempt to make it hurt less. He gasped as he saw the person holding the weapon. 

“Yifan?” He whispered shakily and Yifan aimed the gun at Baekhyun. Of course, his members would still be in the mansion, he should have assumed it once he had seen Jongin at the entrance. Yifan ignored him and he looked at Minseok, who immediately aimed his gun at Yifan.

“You’re not human.” He said, smiling widely. “I can’t believe we just got two Alphas. How lucky are we, Yeol?” 

“Did you call him?” Minseok asked Chanyeol, who just shook his head. He looked at Yifan, holding his weapon firmly. “You can’t shoot us. Your lord will be mad at you if you kill us.” 

“But I can hurt you if you don’t follow me now,” Yifan spoke and smirked. “Nothing personal, of course. You’re a good company, Baekhyun.” 

“Minseok, drop your weapon,” Baekhyun spoke, tugging on his wrist. “Violence is…” 

“I know what violence is,” Minseok answered calmly. “But I also won’t give you to them so easily.” 

“Minseok, please.” Baekhyun pleaded. Chanyeol could see the sheer despair on his face, the true pain, and fear that he had only seen once when he was captured. “You know what will happen to you.” 

“I don’t care.” He spoke and Yifan arched his eyebrows. 

“Fine.” He spoke, lowering the gun to shoot Baekhyun’s leg. 

It happened way too fast, and Chanyeol took a few seconds to understand what happened. Yifan suddenly fell down after a short scream and behind him was Sehun, holding a taser. Baekhyun looked at him, surprised, and so did Chanyeol. 

“Run away before he wakes up,” Sehun said. “Kim Daesung is coming too.” 

“Sehun… You…” Chanyeol whispered, shaking a bit. He looked at Minseok. “Do that thing to Sehun. So they won’t know he helped you.

Sehun frowned, confused as Minseok came closer, and he held the taser tight. 

“You will just sleep,” Minseok said in a strangely soothing voice and he touched his forehead, making him immediately faint. “Let’s go.” 

Minseok walked back to them, and Baekhyun supported Chanyeol, helping him to walk. He was surprised that Baekhyun managed to hold him, once he assumed he was extremely weak after the trip bad conditions. Fortunately, Baekhyun was strong and he dragged him out the mansion. 

“Let’s hide.” Minseok suggested and as soon as they left the place, he took them to a vacant, abandoned lot. Chanyeol knew it was dangerous but they needed somewhere to hide until Minseok could get his starcraft back and come pick them up. There was enough room for him to land and Minseok kissed Baekhyun’s hair before sneaking away. 

Chanyeol sat down, leaning on a beam and he was breathing heavily. He grabbed his own shirt, planning to rip it and Baekhyun held his wrist. 

“I’ll help you.” He spoke softly and he moved his hand to the wound, touching it. “It might burn a bit.” 

Chanyeol felt Baekhyun’s touch get warmer and warmer until he felt as though his skin was being sewed. It was a weird sensation, though not really painful, and he was surprised that when Baekhyun pulled away he wasn’t bleeding anymore. 

“The hell?” Chanyeol gasped, seeing that his wound was closed. He looked at Baekhyun, confused. “I thought you had no powers.” 

“We know some tricks,” Baekhyun answered. “We never use them, though.”

“You mean… all this time, you could have knocked us out. You could have escaped.” Chanyeol muttered. “You could have hurt me…” 

“I could.” Baekhyun started and he took his hand, entwining their fingers. “But that’s not right. You know… Minseok was stupid to save me. He hurt too many people today. I don’t know what will happen to his soul.” 

“But he was trying to save you. How can that be wrong?” 

“I told you this already, Chanyeol. Killing a murderer makes you a murderer as well.” Baekhyun said and he sighed, stroking Chanyeol’s hand. “He didn’t kill anyone at least… so it might be easier for him.” He added and as he noticed Chanyeol was quiet, he caressed his palm softly. “Thank you for coming save me.” 

“Minseok saved you… I just showed him the way.” 

“You could have joined Yifan… but you didn’t.” He pointed out and he smiled slightly. “What you and Minseok did… it’s love.”

“Love?” Chanyeol whispered, looking at him. 

“You know the reason I talked to you and Sehun the most? I can see your aura. Your heart is just covered in dust, but it can be saved.” He spoke and then leaned forward, pecking Chanyeol’s lips slowly. “I swept some of the dust off your heart now,” Baekhyun muttered and Chanyeol looked at his eyes. It did make his heart beat faster and he squeezed his hand, but Baekhyun pulled away. 

“What will happen to me?” Chanyeol asked in a wobbly voice, a single tear escaped from his eyes and Baekhyun wiped it gently. 

“I can erase your memory of me,” Baekhyun answered. “You will be a bounty hunter again, as though nothing ever happened.” He suggested and then sighed. “Or we can drop you in another country so you can restart your life.” 

Chanyeol bit his lips and gazed at him. Not having any memories of Baekhyun would make things easier, as he wouldn’t keep thinking about all the things he taught him, but it would also make him feel bad. It would mean that all the words and time Baekhyun spent teaching him meant nothing, All the progress he could have made would be toss away as he gave up on the wisdom he had acquired and he thought about the second option. Perhaps having a new life would be a good idea. He would miss the other boys, but he couldn’t come back to them now, not when Yifan would probably kill him. He could ask Baekhyun to erase Yifan’s memory, however, that would mean that he would keep being a bounty hunter. He would never know the meaning of love and peace and Chanyeol squeezed Baekhyun’s hand. 

“Will I ever be able to go to Elysium?” He asked and Baekhyun smiled. 

“You sacrificed your actual life for me. You sacrificed your old beliefs in order to have peace one day.” Baekhyun started. “I believe someday we will meet again.” 

Smiling sadly, Chanyeol nodded and he let Baekhyun’s hand go. 

“I think I’ve made my choice.”

epilogue 

In a forgotten land, Chanyeol lived.

Money was not necessary as he planted the food he would eat (he didn’t eat meat anymore) and he had enough clothes. Capitalism had not reached that village yet, and although they couldn’t see the bright sky, it was a nice place to live. 

Most people thought Chanyeol was a crazy old man as he talked about an alien he once met. He taught children all his lessons, and he swore he still met him on his dreams. It had been nearly fifty years since he abducted this Alpha named Baekhyun, yet he could describe him perfectly. 

Chanyeol was married, but his wife died a decade before. Their son had grown up healthily, and Chanyeol made sure to give him love and teach him all the benefits of peace. 

The night Chanyeol died, the sky was shining and the old man looked like he was hallucinating. He called Baekhyun’s name as his heart finally stopped and his son, a teenage boy now, prayed for his soul. He prayed to the entity named Baekhyun to come pick him up and to take him to the planet he talked about so much. 

“You did it,” Baekhyun whispered to him as his soul left his body and Chanyeol looked so light, so pure. Of course, he still had all the human weight on him, but being taught and educated, he would be able to become an Alpha. 

_“I’ll take you to your new home now, captain.”_

**Author's Note:**

>  **Author's Final Note:** Thank you for reading it! Please leave a comment telling me your thoughts and feelings about this story. I'm sorry for any mistakes, English is not my mother tongue, so please forgive me! haha Thank you again!  <3


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